There is an initiative to set up a Town Council for Newton –Le –Willows with legal tax raising powers in addition to the council tax you already pay. Firstly have full sympathy and awareness with the motives for setting up a potential town council and respect the views of all who wish for it.

To set up a town council a group must gather 7.5% of the local electorate and petition the Local Authority who performs what is known as a Community Governance Review (CGR). The CGR can involve a local referendum but this is not mandatory. Therefore there might be no formal referendum, although the council have to consult in some form, but it’s not clear what form this consultation would be.

We feel this is unfair on those who might be unaware, have concerns, or simply don’t want a local council for Newton. Signing this petition is therefore your voice to raise your concerns all objections will be submitted to the St Helens local authority alongside those in favour. Your opinion therefore will be taken into account in any future initial CGR review by St Helens Council.

In addition to above, the concerns are with soaring council tax and utility bills an additional tax on low income pensioners and families could cause financial hardship. There is also a view this is being driven through, at pace, without wider discussion in the town and the full range of alternatives have not been explored.

This petition is your chance to stop, pause the process or express your alternate opinion in the initial public submission to the council which will inevitably have a big bearing on what eventually happens.